


Thicker Than Blood

by KennaxVal



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:15:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25286695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KennaxVal/pseuds/KennaxVal
Relationships: Allura/Keith (Voltron)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	Thicker Than Blood

‘Keith is Galran.’

The words repeated in Allura’s mind over and over again, threatening to drive her mad. It was all so unfair to think that just when she was opening up and maybe starting to feel something other than the sadness from the crushing loss of Altea.

It didn’t matter. Not anymore. As she had been reminding herself, Keith was not who she thought he was. The blood of her enemy flowed in his veins. He belonged to the very people who destroyed her homeworld and she could never see him the same way.

‘What a fool I’ve been,’ she thought to herself, ‘here the universe’s fate hangs in the balance, and I let myself become entranced by those beautiful eyes, the way his hair flows in the wind, how it felt to be in his arms when we floated in the vastness of space, not knowing if we would ever return and, for a moment, not caring.’ Allura shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to get caught up in silly feelings. Especially knowing that it was all a lie. Still, if Keith could help Hunk gather enough scaultrite, it would help the cause out greatly.

But as much as she tried, Allura couldn’t stop thinking about that time in space. Keith made her feel safe. She remembered being thankful that she was with him instead of one of the others. Not that they didn’t mean well, but the Princess always felt a connection with the young loner. A connection that no longer made any sense despite how right it felt. How she suffered then! For even though she wanted to open up to her feelings, the anger within acted like a toxin to her heart.

***

“You know, Keith. I think turning Galra has made you a better human.”

Keith’s blood boiled and his skin turned bright red. “I DID NOT JUST TURN GALRA!!” He didn’t know what he was going to do, but the sight of Hunk cowering made Keith feel incredibly low. “Hunk, I… I’m sorry.”

“Uh, it’s cool. I guess I went a little overboard teasing you about being part Galran.”

Keith shook his head. “It had nothing to do with you. It’s Allura. You should’ve seen her face, Hunk. She… she hates me.”

“No way, Keith. Allura’s just going through a rough time.” Hunk sat in silent thought for a moment. “I know! Let’s bake her brownies when we get back! That’ll put a smile right on her face.”

Despite himself, Keith couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks for the advice, but I have a feeling this might be a deeper problem than can be solved by food.”

“Are you sure? In my experience, food solves everything. After all, you can’t be hangry unless you’re hungry.”

“Let me put it to you this way, have you ever dealt with the loss of your homeworld?”

“Point taken. I guess you’ll have to talk to her or something. Maybe when you make some progress, I can come in with some sugary delights to ease the remaining friction.”

Keith sighed. “Maybe”

***

Talking to Shiro, Pidge, and Lance proved a decent distraction but, sure enough, Lance couldn’t resist getting on her nerves before the call ended. 

“So have you heard from your loverboy?”

“Lance!” Shiro eyed him sternly before turning back to Allura. “He’s just kidding.”

But Pidge took a good look at the Princess and adjusted her glasses. “Although truth be told, judging by your pupil dilation, skin perspiration, and rate of breath at the mention of Keith’s name, I can calculate a 92.3089% chance that you feel some sort of attraction for him.”

Shiro gave them both a look of warning. “Anyway, I’m sure Keith and Hunk will report to you soon and there will be nothing to worry about. We’ll be in touch.”

Allura shut off the screen and ponded to herself. Was it possible that Keith could be in trouble? And even so, why should she care? ‘For the scaultrite,’ She thought to herself. ‘Of course. Yes. Yes, that’s it. I’m worried about that.”

The Princess sat in her chair, trying in vain to concentrate on anything but Keith. Her own body and mind felt like a prison as images of Altea’s destruction repeated in her head. Ten thousand years and she still couldn’t stop imagining the horrors her people endured at the hands of the Galra. Allura pictured an unnaturally dark shadow, seeming to swallow Altea as the Galra fleet descended upon them. Could she hope that their deaths were at least fast? The existential terror of knowing you and everyone you’ve ever loved are about to die should never exist in anyone’s mind, but did Zarkon have enough mercy to allow that fear to fester as little as possible? Knowing him, most likely not. The Galra empire was built on the blood and tears of the innocent and Allura had no doubt her father’s former friend took a sadistic pleasure in tormenting the Alteans.

Before Allura even knew she’d been crying, she found herself coughing; struggling to even breathe. She figured she needed to take a break from all her work and worrying about the missions. In her current state, she wasn’t useful in the slightest. 

But the nightmarish visions wouldn’t stop and Allura’s blood boiled with rage. The Galra. The cursed Galra. Why did they have to ruin everything? How could anyone with such heritage be anything but a monster? 

And yet when she thought about Keith… “NO!” She cried out, trying to push away the thoughts of Keith’s face that always communicated a pain of his own or how he was always willing to rush into danger for the sake of another. It made no sense given his Galran heritage. 

The Galra were monsters. Every single one of them. So why did Keith seem so different? Was his human side winning some great genetic struggle over his Galran heritage? Or perhaps it was all a trick. The Galra were all the same; anything in the name of conquest. Deception was acceptable as long as it ensured victory. There was no honor in any of them.

Yet… Allura felt a sickness deep in the pit of her stomach. And as much as she tried to convince herself it was the adrenaline of the mission, she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t worried about the crew. Including Keith.

***

As hard as it was waiting for her friends to return, it made Allura sick to look at Keith’s face upon his arrival. It was a Galran face that pretended to be human.

Allura let out a bitter laugh to herself. ‘I’ll say this for Zarkon; at least he’s honest about his monstrosity.’

“Allura, have you heard from Coran?” Keith asked.

“Yes.” Allura said, coldly.

A tense moment of silence followed. “Uhh, so, we ready to pop through the wormhole and get back to Olkarion?”

Suddenly, Allura’s demeanor brightened as she turned to Lance. “Yes, I’ve checked with Coran and the teludav is nearly complete.” And as if Keith wasn’t even there, Allura turned to Hunk. “Thank you for getting the scaultrite.”

“No problem.” Hunk puffed his chest out, before sensing the tension in the room. “You know, Keith was there too.”

The Princess said nothing, instead staring daggers at her Galran companion. Despite everything, she still wasn’t ready to talk to him.

“Ooook, this isn’t awkward or anything.”

Pidge elbowed Lance in the side. 

“Ow! What’d you do that for?”

“Lance!” Pidge lowered her voice so Allura wouldn’t hear. “Things are really tense right now.”

“Agreed.” Shiro chimed in. “Maybe I should talk to Keith. Hunk, do you want to see what’s bothering Allura?”

“Actually, maybe I should check up on her.” Pidge offered.

“Is Pidge’s ESPN going off?” Lanced said with a laugh. 

Pidge rolled her eyes and the rest of the group gave Lance a look as though they were slightly embarrassed for him. “That’s ESP and no, I have no time for pseudoscience. I just figured she’d maybe like having another girl to talk to.”

Shiro nodded. “Alright then. See if you can help bridge this gap. We can’t afford any weaknesses in our team. Any lack of unity will only be something for Zarkon to take advantage of.”

Hunk wiped his brow in relief. “Thanks, Pidge. Allura is great and all, but when she’s mad she can be scary. But if you want, I can whip up some Altean goo. It’s always easier to face someone when they’re not hungry.”

“Uh thanks, Hunk, but it’ll be fine.”

As Pidge made her way to Allura’s quarters, she wondered why she was so eager to help. They had never been at odds but never especially close either. Maybe it was the fact that she found it annoying that Lance used to flirt with the Princess. Either way, Pidge knew this tension couldn’t go on.

“Knock knock, Allura. Can I come in?” By the look on Allura’s face, it was clear she wasn’t in the mood but motioned for Pidge to enter just the same. “Thanks. I won’t take up much of your time.”

“Nevermind that, Pidge. What can I help you with?”

“Yeah, well, the thing is maybe you’ve been a bit black and white about this whole Keith business. I get that it was a shock to find out that Keith is part Galran, but I think you’re being unfair.”

“Whatever are you talking about?” 

At first, Pidge felt herself wanting to back down and walk away, but she swallowed her fear and pressed on. “Come on, Allura, Yeah it’s not ideal, what’s even worse is that you’re acting like, well, a bigot.”

As soon as the words came out, Pidge clasped her hands around her mouth as though she could take back what she said. But it was too late and Allura stood over her with her face bright red.

“What did you say to me?”

Pidge almost apologized, but she realized that she had only spoken the truth and stood as tall as she could, looking Allura square in the eye. “You know what? I’m not sorry for what I said. I said you’re acting like a bigot. You’re mad at Keith, but why? His only crime is having Galran blood. Can you think of a single thing he’s done to hurt you or anyone else?”

And ever so slightly, Allura’s bottom lip started to tremble. “No… no, I suppose not. I’m sorry, Pidge, you showed a lot of courage today, but I don’t know if I’m ready to face him.”

“All because of his heritage.” Pidge shook her head. “You know, Allura. We’re all with you until the end, but if we think the entire Galra people are hopeless because of their race, we’re not much better than Zarkon and our end may end up coming sooner rather than later. The most important battles aren’t won with spaceships and lasers. They’re won by changing people’s hearts and minds.”

With Pidge gone, Allura kept repeating the words over and over in her mind. That, and the feeling of floating in space with Keith. Allura didn’t know why she couldn’t get the image out of her head unless… ‘What a fool I’ve been.’ She thought to herself. ‘Oh Keith…’

***

The seconds were dragging by like hours in Keith’s quarters. Not that he was one for passing the time anyway, but with Allura plaguing his mind, he was truly in pain. He loved her and yet he’d never seen this side of her. So cold; enough to make him feel like a monster. There was a knock on the door that flooded him with relief. Perhaps Shiro had a pep talk, or Hunk with some delicious food (not that he could eat with how sick he felt), even Lance would’ve been a welcome distraction. Instead, it was the last person he expected.

Allura, wearing a face that conveyed an intense sadness stood in front of him. He figured it was more of her mourning his Galra heritage. 

“Keith, may I come in?”

The Red Paladin didn’t quite know how he felt. He was happy to see Allura but also upset with her for being so distant. Just the same, he motioned her in without saying a word.

Allura took a deep breath. What could she possibly say? She wasn’t even sure how she felt about Keith. All her thinking about everything and she was still at a loss, so she decided to let go and speak from the heart.

“I… love you.” The words were even more of a shock to Allura than to Keith, whose jaw just about dropped to the floor. But she knew she was speaking the truth. “I love you, Keith, Galra heritage or not. And, to be honest, I owe you an apology. You see, I’ve only ever known loss at the hands of the Galra, but when I think of you, my mind takes me to when we were floating in endless space together. And the more I let myself get lost in that memory, the more I realized that I could’ve spent forever with you in the vast nothing. Because, in your arms, even nothing is everything.”

When she finished speaking, she expected a warm response from Keith only to be met with an unreadable face.

“Allura, I need time to think about this. I lo- care about you too, but you’ve been incredibly cold to me. I can’t help who my parents are and yet you treated me as though my bloodline made me a monster. You really hurt me, so I’m going to have to ask you to give me some space.”

The words pierced Allura’s heart, but she made no attempt to change Keith’s mind. She put on a brave face and calmly walked out before making her way to be alone and weep for the relationship she feared might not be.

***

“Allura, I said I need to be alone.” Keith hated himself for being so cruel, but he was heartbroken and admittedly had no clue about patching up relationships. 

“Dude, let me in!” It was Lance’s voice, making Keith groan. The last thing he needed was the inevitable headache the Blue Paladin was about to cause. But the knocking wouldn’t stop, so Keith rushed over to open the door.

“What?!” Keith made no attempt to hide his irritation and Lance instinctively took a step back. Keith hung his head down low. “I’m sorry, Lance. I’m just not in the mood to see anyone.”

Lance straightened his shirt and stepped forward, trying to pretend he wasn’t intimidated a moment ago. “It’s cool but it’s really not me you should be saying that too.”

“Did Allura say something?”

“She didn’t have to. Look, I get that she’s been an ice princess to you and all, but you know coming to you wasn’t easy, right? I can tell by the way she looks at you that she’s totally crazy about you but all that Galra heritage news had to hit her like a ton of bricks. You really need to make things right with her.”

Keith hated to admit it, but Lance had proven to be the wiser of them that day. “I guess even a broken clock is right twice a day.” Keith placed his hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Thanks for giving me some much-needed advice.”

“Sure thing, I… hey! Who are you calling a broken clock?”

***

When Allura opened her door, Keith could tell she’d been crying.

‘Good job, hot shot.’ Keith could’ve killed himself for taking an already bad situation and making it worse. Luckily, Allura let him in.

“Allura, about today…”

“You don’t need to apologize, Keith.”

“Yes, I do. I have no idea what you’ve been through and had the nerve to demand you accept me for what I am. I should’ve given you time to process everything.”

“Keith,” Allura sat on her comforter and patted the space next to her, “there wasn’t much of anything to process. I know who you are and that should’ve been enough.”

Keith sat next to Allura, unsure if he was too close. But when Allura didn’t inch away, he scooted even closer to her, their sides pressed together.

“The truth is, Allura, that I love you and when you said as much to me, I didn’t know how to process it. You see, I’m used to being abandoned and looked down upon. I guess I was worried that you would use my heritage as an excuse to leave me behind. But I know what we have and I know you would never do such a thing.”

Allura sighed. “We need to work on rebuilding our relationship, of course.”

That’s when Keith took her hand. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. And you’ll be surprised how quickly our hearts can heal. For instance…” Keith leaned in to kiss Allura softly on the lips. For a sweet moment, it was like they were floating in space again with the universe belonging solely to them.

“Keith, I…”

“Shhh.” Keith pressed his finger to Allura’s mouth. “There’s nothing more we need to say. You and I are one and we’ll always be together, no matter what. Now, get some rest. Soon, we’re going to take out Zarkon, save the universe, and then I’ll be able to show you the life you deserve.”

***

A few minutes later, Keith emerged from Allura’s quarters with a satisfied look on his face. Little did he know that Pidge and Lance were watching from outside and gave each other a congratulatory high five at a job well done.


End file.
